Friday, March 19, 2010

INTERVIEWS!

Operation: INTERVIEWS was supposed to be the sooper triple grand finale LAST episode we wrote. But before that I was writing the KND/BILLY AND MANDY crossover. Maxwell Atoms and I came up with a really fun story about giant pants-eating ants--

Which was roundly rejected outright by Cartoon Network.

Ouch...(More on that when I post tidbits about the crossover)

But the production machine needed to roll on, so we put the crossover aside and jumped into Operation: INTERVIEWS!

So how could we come up with a story GIHOOGIC enough to wrap up 6 seasons?!

How about a car carrier for cruise ships?!

How about a world-wide scavenger hunt?!

How about almost every character that's ever been on the show making an appearance?!

How about the final big giant huge reveal of the Galactic KND?!

And a big, fat, sloppy, weepy good-bye?!

And...

Aw maaaaaaan, I LOVED when we came up with this...

How about LIVE ACTION interviews with the KND after they became adults?!

NERDGASM!

So what can I tell you about this mucho grande finale?

• Originally I wanted the scavenger hunt to involve an artifact from every KND episode we did. We wouldn't specifically name them all, but I thought it'd be cool to have them littered throughout the episode. A golfball from MINIGOLF, a turnip, Mr. Huggykins, the pizza from REPORT, etc etc. But it proved to be too massive of an undertaking... and some episodes didn't have blatantly obvious objects that represented themselves.

• Casting for the live action sequences was a bit challenging. We had VERY specific requirements for the characters since they had to really look like adult versions of the KND. We looked through probably 500 headshots and auditioned around 25 people for each character. It's sooooooo much easier when you can just DRAW the character the way you want... but here are some little anecdotes about each character's casting.

• We thought casting Numbuh Three was gonna be easy... but then made the mistake of asking casting agencies for a Japanese actress. And we got LOTS of Japanese actresses that would have made an awesome Numbuh Three! The problem was that they all had reeeeeeeeeally thick accents! In some cases we could barely understand a word they said when they read their lines (saying "The Rainbow Monkey Let's Go To The Lavatory Fun Park" proved especially problematic). So we had to go back and do another round of casting, but this time ask for an Asian American. And Ms. Sonnie Brown totally fit the bill and her kids were psyched she was gonna be in a KND episode!

• We met a couple really good Numbuh Fives... but Fran Jaye knocked us out of the park. Her attitude was dead on and she was a blast to work with. Which was important because she had the most lines.

• Ric Stoneback nabbed the role of Numbuh Two. While he wasn't exactly what I wanted visually, his laughter and sense of humor TOTALLY sold me on him. A very funny, easy going guy with a great personality!

• Curt Hostetter was hysterical and really threw in some great ad-libs. And his look was perfect for the aged Numbuh Four. But I think he thought we were all completely insane.

(NOTE: A lot of you have been asking for the actor's and actresses' names for a loooooong time... sorry about the wait!)

So what else can I tells ya?

• When Father grabs the KND with his 'Fists of Flame' Cartoon Network insisted they be colored green instead of fiery colors. We wouldn't want to flame-broil the kids, now would we...

• Yup... Nick and Chip are back. And I don't think it's any secret that Chip was based on baseball's own Harry Caray. And I'll assume most of you saw Better Off Dead? If not, check this out:

• Pottymouth was originally designed as one of the background villains in Operation: MOVIE but the design department spent season after season demanding he get a speaking part in an episode. He didn't until Season 5's Operation: AWARDS where he won BEST TOILET-BASED VILLAIN-- a complete slap in the face to the Toiletnator. We originally wanted 80% of Pottymouth's words to be bleeped out, but CN was afraid viewers would be able to read the bad words on his lips. My suggestion that we record him saying NICE things and then bleep them out was also rejected. To be honest, I think his 'We're gonna flush that doody-filled poo poo cake right down da poopin' toilet' 'cursing' actually turned out better!

• Speaking of potty humor... I can't believe no one made us change the name of the log flume; The Drop-A-Log? I thought for sure that one was a goner.

• I still get the chills when Numbuh One shouts, "Because the Kids Next Door will NEVER end!"

• Since I wrote the first half of the special, Mr. Andy Rheingold was on the second half. But when he got to the big good-bye scene, he realized that he couldn't... or at least thought he shouldn't... write it. It had to be me. He probably only decided that when he saw that there was a LOST marathon on TV that weekend and figured writing would get in the way... but he was right. I needed to say good-bye to my children. And it was painful. Reeeeeeeeeeal painful. I was bawling as I wrote each of those good-byes. Each was a killer in it's own right.

Numbuh One's Mom hugging him good-bye...

Numbuh Zero telling him to show those Galactic KND chaps how it's done...

Numbuh Two packing him some supplies...

Numbuh Three playing dumb...

The hurt Numbuh Four swearing that if Numbuh One needs help they'll come running...

and Numbuh Five leading Sector V again...

KILLED ME.

But Numbuh One's last shout of "KIDS NEXT DOOR... good-bye."

SLAUGHTERED ME.

I'm gettin' all misty just typing this...But if I wasn't, then I didn't do it right.

And I'd be remiss in not mentioning something about the little bit at the end regarding who ended up marrying who.

Eh...

So I'm remiss.(Mwa HA HA HA!)

(cough cough)

Um... Then there were the end credits. We decided we wanted to show a frame from each and every episode in those last 30 seconds. That's over 150 frames we had to pull... and when I say we I mean Post Production Potentate Oren Kaunfer and Aerial Editor Dave Courter! And it's harder than it sounds-- each frame had to immediately and totally read as the episode it was representing since it was only going to be on for a couple seconds.

But I still wanted to leave everyone with one final image.Something that summed up what Codename: Kids Next Door was all about.I thought about it a long time.And I doodled a lot of ideas in my sketchbooks.And eventually it came to me:

I did cry when I saw interviews! It was so sad! Numbah 1 was a really great leader, I would imagine, and now he's leaving Sector V for the Galactic Kids Next Door? That would of been really hard to write!!!

I'm still kinda confused... who married who? Sorry, it's just that I thought that Numbahs 3 and 4 get married, and Numbahs 2 and 5, but now people are telling me that Numbahs 2 and 3 are married, and Numbahs 4 and 5 are married! I'm not sure who's who!!!!

@ robstar1fan: I always assumed that it was the obvious "Numbuh 4 marries Numbuh 3", etc. but some people did confuse me, too.

I think what helped me settle on my original conclusion was when Numbuh 4's live-action actor (who I thought was PERFECT for suiting his older self!) said something along the lines of "Hey! Hug your own wife, will ya?" when Numbuh 2's older self was hugging and crying Numbuh 3's older self.

I also found it interesting that Numbuh 3 was a little more... serious... than her younger self xD

And btw, Mr. W., congratulations on the awesome ending! I loved how you left it opened for more possible ideas when Numbuh 5's older self said "Oh, by the way, welcome back Numbuh 1..." or something along those lines. BRILLIANT!

@#0.704: Thanks! I just looked it up on the knd code Module, and that's what it says... Sorry for any confusion! Anyways, I wonder when Wally finally got the guts to ask Kuki out on a date.... or marrige! The series was totally awesome and I really hate when my fave shows (Sonic X, Teen titans, Knd) end, but there are still some questions that are unanswered, left......

*clap clap clap clap* thats me clapping on the wonderful job you did making operation interviews. supur awesome! reading this made me cry! im just glad they still play kids next door on cartoon network! that was the best ending to a show i have evur seen EVUR!

Awesome! I wish other characters like numbuh 362 and 86 got to say goodbye to numbuh 1 too cause it seemed they were pretty Important characters over the six seasons. I can't really look at that stay young picture though it makes me smile and tear up cause it makes me remember alot of good stuff in the past. KND was a great show and you can still do lots of things with it such as the fanfictions people make... (I think a sector w spin off would be sooper cool). But the idea of a kid spy organization!? How do you come up with that!? It's so hard coming up with song ideas when I write songs and yesterday me and one of my friends (who is one of the most creative people I know) were thinking of tv show ideas and we came up with a show about talking worms... It's hard. Where did the idea of KND come from?

I did cry at the goodbyes..they were so sad and emotional.it seems to make sense that you see the characters as a big part of you so it must have been so hard to write that scene.but you did put some awesome lines in this episode like nigel's final line. That is one that make me burst into tears big timehehe and pottymouth made me laugh with his cursing!the last picture is brilliant! everytime i look at it I smile :)

It should come back!! it will be sure to knock the other new cartoon network shows out

A little off the subject of I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S., but I can't be the only one that loves Numbuh 86's accent, right?

I think my favourite line of her's is in T.R.E.A.T.Y. when Chad (ex Numbuh 274, who was really working with the KND all along, shh!) caused Numbuh 86 and the other operative to evacuate the shuttle-ish ship, and she said "Um... it looks like we're going to be a wee bit late, heh..."

I thought that the biggest plot twist of the series (excluding the fact that Numbuh Zero turned out to be Numbuh 1's dad, Father being Numbuh 1's Uncle, and The DCFDTL lane being the missing Sector Z) was finding out that Numbuh 86's dad was Mr. Boss e.o

That was definitely one of the best blog posts ever, Mr. Warburton; the way you ended this post especially made me tear up. Thank you for telling us the names of the actors!! I've been wanting to know that for so long! And the end of INTERVIEWS did bring tears to my eyes... :'( The Kids Next door will never end, for they will all be in our hearts! <3 (also, could you please write a post about the relationship between Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 3? Like, how did you know/who gave you the idea of making them like each other? It seems like there are clues starting from the first episode that they had feelings for each other-well, at least Numbuh 4 definitely felt something for Numbuh 3. It feels like you never really give your opinions about this couple!) And sorry for the long post!!

Great post! Interviews still makes me misty-eyed. Thank goodness for the moment when Numbuh 4 says, "Would you mind hugging your own wife instead of mine?!" otherwise I would keep on crying. The live action actors were great, especially Numbuh 2's! Overall, the series had a nice conclusion; the DCFDTL were defeated, Numbuhs 3 and 4 ended up together, as did 2 and 5, and they still kept in touch with Nigel.

Yup, I almost made it through the post without crying... until I saw the picture at the end. :)

I cried so hard at the end of interviews. I couldn't believe that Numbuh 1 left. I still can't watch the end of it with out crying. KND were the best years of my life. Thank you so much for making them Mr. Warburton!

I'm watching KND as I'm writing this, lol. Anyways, I have to say something.... That last KND episode KICKED ASS! I cried...when Numbah One tells them, "KIDS NEXT DOOR!, good bye.", I literally go to my room and cry for the next thrity minutes. XD it still makes me sad, just thinking about it.

My eyes teared up during the goodbyes, much like everyone else who watches INTERVIEWS, but when Nigel said 'Kids Next Door! ...goodbye' THAT made me bawl like mad. After I watched INTERVIEWS, I was shocked. I mean one of my favorite cartoons, had just ended. I knew it HAD to end, but I never it would end like that. Too bad shows like these could just last forever...What angered me a little is that INTERVIEWS gave me unsolved questions, like what happened to Numbuh 362, or Father for that matter? Are you ever gonna tell how Nigel became bald??I just hope you would make a movie or something that would answer those Unsolved questions. Even if it would take a buhmillion years to do it.

That was so touching! *sob* Dispite not wanting KND to end, I don't think it could have ended any better. And yes I did tear up when watching the end and my friends didn't get why I did, but they weren't really big KND fans so... But anyway that sign that said "Welcome to New Jersey" or something along those lines, cracked me up because I live in NJ

Thank you so much to create the KND. The most wonderful TV serie that I have never see in my life. I love your work and your kids, and the last chapter made me cry. I will never forget KND, specially numbhu 5.love and kisses

Thank you so much to create the KND. The most wonderful TV serie that I have never see in my life. I love your work and your kids, and the last chapter made me cry. I will never forget KND, specially numbhu 5.love and kisses

Thank you so much to create the KND. The most wonderful TV serie that I have never see in my life. I love your work and your kids, and the last chapter made me cry. I will never forget KND, specially numbhu 5.love and kisses

You, sir, are a genius. A true genius. You've inspired so many people with your show, myself included. Every episode, every scene, every line...just pure genius. Like a slice of Heaven on Earth, told in cartoon form.

You've probably heard all this kind of things before, which wouldn't surprise me at all. Things like eatting broccolli and Brussels sprouts being suicidal, the moon landing being a complete fake, enormous tree houses as far as the eye can see...it's all a kid ever dreams of.

I've watched the show ever since I was 10 years old, and it completely blew my mind. And for whatever reason, I had never seen INTERVIEWS; it was aired once on Cartoon Network, and I unfortunitely was not near a TV at the time. Cartoon Network recently started airing repeats of the show, and I've become ingulfed with it all over again. And I finally, for the first time in my life, saw INTERVIEWS online. I have been drawing the Kids Next Door and writting fan fiction on them ever since. I've been called obsessed with it many times before, but I don't care. It's not an obsession, it's a way of life. (if you ever have the time in your busy schedule and are interested in seeing some of my artwork, feel free to go to http://genincat.deviantart.com/ There are other great artist on DeviantART that love KND as well and are constantly drawing the characters).

If you have EVER considered, even for a moment, of continuing the series (life for Sector V after Numbuh 1 left, the KND in general, etc.) you should just roll with it and go for it. I don't know if you realize this, but it would mean so much to the KND fans around the world if you continued the series. I've talked to so many of your supporters, and they all say the same thing: they'd die of excitement just to hear if KND was being considered for another season.

So I ask you, representing all kids in the world, please consider continuing the show. It would mean so much to all of us.

Mr.Warburton, i hope that some day i can be as great as you are. you made the best show in the world and your character developement is brilliant. thank you for creating the show that, not only inspires me but, made me realize that someday i too want to make a tv show for kids.

i am watching codename knd right now!! operation interviews made me cry!! i miss this show. i am glad its on tv again because its WAY better then any of the other shows on cartoon network.it would be cool to watch them as teens in the TND or something!! anyways i LOVE codename knd!!

How could you kill my favorite villains of all time? I mean come on! I didn't even get all their names! I liked those guys. I think killing them made a bad ending, personally. And, what was the name of the boy in the front? I liked him a lot.

How could you kill them? It's just plain evil, I mean they were my favorite villains of all time and I didn't even know all their names. It forms a bad ending in my opinion.By the way, what is the name of the little boy in the front? He's so cute!

I nearly cried when i saw this! I really hoped that nigel would fall in love with rachel...(but that's just the 1/362 supporter in me saying that) That was-I was speechless when it ended and i thought 'It's over?so what happened to numbuh 1?' then older numbuh 5 said 'oh and numbuh one? Welcome back' it opened alot of possibilities of what could happen nextjust a question Mr.W did you intentionally left it that way so that your fans could turn it to their own point of view or was there a meaning that i just didn't catch?oh anyways I grew up with KND and I love it sooo much! it helped me face teen-hood but still with a strong grip of childhood.I'm the most childish(fun) 13 year old in my class and did i mention I'm so crud proud of it? Thanks Mr. Warburton for the awesome KND!I'm definitely gonna pass down my experience in watching every single episode with my siblings to my kids and tell them all about you........KND Rules!

Oh my Glob , if you were there while I was watching INTERVEIWS , you would've got soaked . I was crying Eeleventy Kajillion gallons of water ( I used the number you made up ) it was SSSSOOOOOO SAD ! KND WAS A PEICE OF ART! Someday I want to be working in an animation studio , and be like you . You inspired me . And that stay young picture , BEAUTIFUL ! Ever since I saw the episode , I looked it up and guess what was my scree. Saver ? I even put it on face book . God Bless you Tom . You re my hero Mr.Warburton ,

thanks for all the great knd episodes you made that i have watched....i really really like them..... the last episode of it really made me cry for about an hour, especially when numbuh 1 says "kids next door, goodbye"..... i still don't know why it end like that..... (i am not complaining just saying) but i am sure there is a reason for it.... although even i did not know what is the reason.... if someday you decided to create a new knd season...... i am here to help you create names, numbers and etc.......count me in cause i really really dream of it........thanks mr. warburton.....you are the best :)

signed: anny

P.S. i hope if that day comes hope you can find where i live hehehe....... peace ;) :)

I really wish KND hadnt finished because it was amazing programme. I loved it and it was one of the television programmes that made my childhood awesome. I think that while the show was running, you could have done a Numbuh 4 episode where he goes back to Australia, because you did Operation ENGLAND, where Numbuh 1 goes back to England and Operation TRIP when Numbuh 3 travels back to Japan. I would have loved to see an episode like that :)

Its been 5 years and I still watch KND today. I totally teared up when Nigel said the Kids Next Door will never end, which it didn't. I'm still here with a kajillion others world-wide. It never will end.

I would stay up to 7 in the morning watching kids next door. When I finally saw operation interviews, I cried till I fell asleep and when I woke up. My words after it was, "That's it? That can't be!" Mostly because I never got to see 3 and 4 date, etc. Same thing with 2 and 5. I would always watch a show, become obsessed, then become obsessed with another show in about a week. But with kids next doo, it's different. The show is drilled in my heart. Thank you for creating an amazing show! When I get older, I'm gonna create an awesome show that speaks to people too.

OK, I'm going to clear up some totally true facts before I cry, so listen up! Here's the names of the Delightful Children: short blonde boy in the front, Bruce; tall sandy-blonde bow girl, Ashley; short brunette girl with pigtails, Olivia (Ogie for short); helmet boy, Lenny; tall brunette boy in the back, David. Got that? Numbuh 4 married Numbuh 3. Numbuh 5 married Numbuh 2. The Delightful Children died. Codename: Kids Next Door is an awesome show! All that was true. Oh, gosh! I'm crying! For more crying, just watch a YouTube video called "KND When you're gone". It was uploaded by a YouTuber called fenkata1. I cried when I first watched it! GOODBYE CODENAME: KIDS NEXT DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :( !

There's literally NO POSSIBLE WAY for me to explain all my thoughts and feelings about Codename: Kids Next Door. Mr. Warburton, you've inspired me to want to become a cartoonist. But not for Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network's shows stink today! Adventure Time, Regular Show, Steven Universe, who comes up with these shows?! Anyway, thanks for the memories Tom. (Can I call you Tom?) This show is awesome. Bye Numbuh 1. I'll miss you, forever. Oh, and I just watched that When You're Gone video. I cried! I LOVE YOU, TOM!!!

Did any of you notice that Numbuh 5 wears reading glasses when she reads books, but not when she reads magazines? (This has nothing to do with Operation INTERVIEWS, but still.) She was wearing glasses while she was reading in the beginning of Operation CANNON. (I think it was CANNON. I'm pretty sure it was.) But whenever she's reading a magazine, she reads it without the glasses. ? Also, if you look closely, you'll notice that Numbuh 5 reads the same magazine in every episode that she has a magazine in. (It's the one with the Yes Dear 2,000 on the back from Operation LIZZIE.) I know, I'm a Codename: Kids Next Door genius who observes and notices everything in that show. :)

Even though I'm 20, I wish that the KND would come back and maybe renew into new series like Sector V are now teens and still fighting crime while dealing with teen and high school issues (like Kim Possible) or something. Btw congrats to Mr Warburton for his talented animation and stories. My favorite KND operative is Numbuh 4. Stay young and prosper :).

Hi do you think you get that spin off series to go because this was my favourite show ever and it still is and make me sad when I read or see the ending but I knew it to finish it but it was so sad I feel like I have to cry every time I think about it or watch it again So could you please try to I've loved this show every since I was a younger kid since i'm ten like numbuh 4's obvious crush on numbuh 3 or numbuh three's obliviousness to numbuh 4's crush her love of rainbow monkeys , numbuh 5's cool and calmness and big sugar tooth or numbuh two's big appetite and genius inventions and numbuh ones leadership skills making them the best secter besides sector z and I definitely won't forget the knd especially not numbuh five because since i am mostly like her and I have always wanted to be apart of the knd if it was real but im kind too old but still i will never forget I'M SO SAD IT ENDED! But a great ending SO PLEASE TRY ! I MISS IT SO MUCH!